Rebecca Vallance: Nine stores by Christmas

Having returned from walking the red carpet with Nicky Hilton at the Cannes Film Festival, Rebecca Vallance is shifting to a running pace with store openings.

The 13-year-old womenswear brand moved into Mecca’s former Sydney flagship in the Strand Arcade last month, and this weekend her first Perth boutique opens in Claremont. Another Sydney store focusing on bridal will open in Rosebery next month, with a boutique in Melbourne’s Doncaster shopping centre on track for an August unveiling bringing the store total to nine.

“You can’t open stores without doing your homework,” says Vallance, who worked in fashion public relations before pursuing design. “The current focus on retail expansion is a direct result of the increasing global demand that we are seeing through online and wholesale.”

While the brand worn by Zara Tindall at Royal Ascot on Thursday has strong international support, with year-on-year growth at online retailers My Theresa and Farfetch exceeding 40 per cent, increasing an Australian presence to 15 stores by the end of 2015 is a priority.

“We know there is the demand to immerse themselves in the Rebecca Vallance world, but we need to carefully curate a footprint that supports the online and wholesale business. It’s all about the right sites in the right locations at the right time.”

Christian Kimber: Testing the CBD with store three

By fusing Italian craftsmanship with the Australian lifestyle, Christian Kimber has become part of Melbourne’s establishment. Now he’s following his customer into the CBD, with his third store opening next month on Little Collins Street, a dignified stroll from the Melbourne Club.

“This is the last piece for us to feel like we’ve hit it on all fronts,” says business co-founder Renuka Kimber, Christian’s wife. “It took us 18 months to find the right space, but we have been preparing for this since we started 10 years ago.”

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Christian confesses to nerves about expanding in a turbulent retail environment but having opened their second Melbourne store in Armadale during the lockdown period for COVID, some mask-free optimism is helping.

“We have always followed the money, even when times were tough,” he says.

“When we opened Armadale people were shopping closer to home. This is for our city customer and people visiting Melbourne.”

The CBD store is three times the size of the Armadale and original Fitzroy stores, with chalkboards in each fitting room to record alterations for the on-site tailor.

“If you follow the news every day, I can’t imagine that there would ever be a perfect time to open,” Christian says. “We can’t not grow. The climate will never be perfect.”

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